


I’d Never Make a Promise I Don’t Intend to Keep

by Ima_Paris_Sight



Series: Hey, Avengers! [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Allspeak (Marvel), Asgardian Loki (Marvel), Asgardian Magic (Marvel), Gen, Kid Fic, Knife Fish, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki likes knives, Schoolyard Fighting, Tony Stark & Steve Rogers are Brothers, little league
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26057476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ima_Paris_Sight/pseuds/Ima_Paris_Sight
Summary: Fourth-grader Loki, fifth-grader Thor, and ninth-grader Hela move to Midgard. Thor quickly befriends a baseball team, but things go a little slower on Loki's end...
Relationships: Clint Barton & Loki, Hela & Loki (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes & Thor, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Jane Foster & Pepper Potts, Loki & Pepper Potts, Loki & Scotchrock (Marvel), Loki & Steve Rogers, Loki & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark
Series: Hey, Avengers! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891630
Kudos: 8





	I’d Never Make a Promise I Don’t Intend to Keep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scaryfangirl2001](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scaryfangirl2001/gifts), [saladfingers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saladfingers/gifts), [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> My job got reopened for a couple of months, but it's shut back down again, so I have returned to Fanfiction.

The tall nine-year-old sullenly trails behind his ten-year-old brother as they explore their new neighborhood. Their dad Odin recently acquired a new corporation, so they moved into a family castle. Castle Odinson has been here for decades, but – aside from a routine cleaning staff – no one has stepped a foot inside. The younger of the two has his hands shoved in his pockets, and he discreetly uses his seidr to levitate a book at waist-level.

“Look, brother!” The older of the two exclaims enthusiastically. “They appear to be playing a game of sticks and a ball!”

“Go fetch,” He mutters under his breath.

When the ten-year-old looks questioningly, the black-haired brother shakes his head. “Go play, Thor. I’ll go find a library.”

The blonde appears hesitant, but his brother rolls his eyes and walks away. Thor calls out a thanks and runs over to the crowd of kids. He walks directly to the boy with a prosthetic arm who’s standing by a chain-link fence.

“Hello. I have an inquiry.”

He raises an eyebrow at the turn of phrasing. “Where are you from?”

“Norway. May I ask my question now?”

“I lost my arm in a trainwreck three years ago. So, I got this one built in place of it. It’s fully functional, but it acts out in bad weather. Does that answer your question?”

Thor, who is staring at him in fascination, shakes his head when the other boy stops talking. “No. I wanted to ask how you play this game?”

The other boy blinks in confusion. “You don’t have baseball in Norway?” When Thor continues to stare blankly, the other sighs. “Alright. So, there’s two teams. Tony’s the leader of our team.”

He points to a brunette nine-year-old standing on a trash can lid in the middle of a chalk-drawn square. He’s wearing a red shirt, red cap, and blue jeans. “He’s the pitcher, so his job is to throw the baseball to the person at bat.”

Thor nods, so the other continues and points out more kids. “Right, so Stevie’s the first baseman, CB’s the second baseman, and Nat’s the third baseman. They stay near the bases to tag the other team out.”

They’re all wearing red shirts and blue jeans like Tony, but with the addition of a webbed glove each. Stevie is blond, standing by a Frisbee. CB has brown hair; he and three preteens in blue shirts are crouched beside an old language arts book. Nat is a redhead; she and another preteen in a blue shirt are standing by a withered old boogie board.

“On the other side over there is Mora. She’s playing right field, so she has dibs on all the balls that fall over there. And I play left field,”

“So, you catch the balls that fly here?”

He nods but jerks his head up when he hears someone yell, “Bucky!”

He moves from the fence and jumps to catch the ball in his webbed glove. He winds up his prosthetic arm and throws the ball back to Tony. During the catch, the preteen by the boogie board runs across the flat sack of flour in front of the last preteen in a red shirt. Two blue shirts make it to the boogie board, but the other is caught between bases when Tony catches the ball. She tries to dive for the book, but CB tags her.

“You’re out, Hope!” Tony calls it from the mound.

The brunette groans but jogs over to the gate away from the field. Another blue shirt steps up to the sack and picks up the wooden bat. Bucky turns back to Thor and nods to the guy crouched behind the one with the bat. He’s also in red but wearing a wired mask over his face.

“And that’s Bobby. He catches the ball if the batter doesn’t hit it.”

“Ah, this is most entertaining!” Thor grins. “Who are these people in blue?”

“Well, that’s the other team. They take turns to hit the ball with the bat and run around the bases. If the ball is close to the pitcher, they stay on their base. If they have time, they keep running. But the basemen can tag them out if they catch the ball, too, and the runners aren’t touching a base.”

Thor nods again, and Bucky takes it as a good sign.

“Okay. So, Hope got out, but Sammy made it over the line.” Another preteen hits a ball, but Stevie grabs it off the ground and throws it to Tony. The two in blue run back to the boogie board before they’re tagged.

“Those two with Nat?” He pauses until Thor looks over. “That’s Scott and Cassie. Brother and sister.” Scott’s a blond, and Cassie has brown hair.

“That guy by CB is Justin,” Another blond. “And that girl beside Stevie is Darcy.” Brunette. “Phil and Misty already had their turns, and Ghost is coming up.”

“The last player has died?”

Bucky shakes his head. “Nah. It’s just a nickname. Her real name’s Ava, I think. But, once her run’s over, we’ll switch positions.”

Thor nods. A player in a blue short-sleeved hoodie walks to the sack. Her hood is up, and she wears a blue bandana over her face. She chokes the bat tightly, and Tony throws the ball. The crack can be heard, and the ball soars down the middle. All the blue shirts race around the diamond, and Thor joins the chase for the ball. Just as Ghost passes the third base, Thor jumps and catches the ball without a glove. As Bucky explained to him, he throws the ball back to the pitcher, and Tony catches the ball seconds before Ghost steps over the sack.

“Holy crap. Ghost got out.”

“Who got me out? No one’s _ever_ caught one of my fly balls.”

“He did.” Mora points to the newcomer, still in awe of the catch.

“Who are you?” Tony asks before Ghost can.

“My name is Thor. My family and I just moved in the neighborhood.”

Tony nods. “Well, you’re already wearing red, and we need a ninth player. Congrats. You’re our new midfielder.”

“I am on the team?”

“Yeah.” Tony shrugs. “C’mon. Our team’s up to bat.”

Justin, Darcy, and Misty take their positions in the outfield. Scott takes first base, Phil’s on second, and Hope has third base. Cassie runs to the field area between second and third base. Sammy dons the catcher’s mask, and Ghost takes her spot on the pitcher’s mound. Clint is up to bat first, though he only makes a run to first base. Stevie goes after him, granting each of them up a base. Nat steps up, and her misdirection allows her team to race to another place. Steve and Clint get to third base, and she moves into second.

Mora strikes out, but Bucky’s hit goes out far. Steve and Clint run over the sack, Bucky makes it to second, and Nat almost makes it over the sack but gets tagged out. She groans a little but moves off the diamond. Tony steps up to bat. Strike one. He bends his knees a little better. Strike two. Thor frowns when Ghost starts taunting Tony. He pulls back and swings… and everything goes silent. The ball collides with the bat, and the swing sends it into Ghost’s face. Phil and Stevie run over first.

“Ghost? Are you awake?”

“Ava!” Stevie hisses, pulling away the bandana.

The other kids slowly move forward, and some of them see the bloody nose and stitch-made bruise on her face before she sits up. Tony winces.

“Aw, crap. I’m sorry, Ghost.”

“Twenny-fu owas, Tones. Twenny-fu owas, an’ ya thead.”

Despite the impediment, Tony reads the threat loud and clear. Twenty-four hours and he’s dead. He watches as Scott and Cassie help her to her feet, and they leave the diamond. The others scatter soon after, leaving Tony on a diamond in an empty lot with only Bobby and Thor left behind.

“I am sorry you will die so soon after I have met you.”

Tony glares at the newcomer, and Bobby shakes his head. “Not helping.”

Thor frowns. “Perhaps I shall go find Loki.”

Thor walks away. Bobby nudges Tony, and the latter sighs. They walk away in the opposite direction. Within an hour, Thor has found Loki sitting on the steps of the local library with an auburn-haired preteen girl. There are two small stacks of books between them, and Loki excitedly talks with her.

“Brother! You have made a friend!”

Loki glares at him for having been interrupted. “Yes. She helped me find my books, and now, we’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?”

“I suppose _you_ will go find Hela. She,” He gestures to the girl on the steps. “Is taking me to an observatory to find Phosphorus and Hesperus in the sky.”

Thor visibly deflates. “Ah. Okay. Have fun, Brother. Will I see you at dinner tonight?”

Loki shrugs. “Maybe.”

Thor walks away, and the girl stands up with her books. “Do you really want to go to an observatory to see Venus?”

Loki shrugs. “I don’t know, Pepper. I just need some space from Thor. And my family.”

She nods. “Alright. Well, you can come home with me. I’ll ask Dad if you can stay for dinner.”

A couple hours later, Loki had stayed for dinner with Pepper and her dad Virgil. After dinner, Virgil volunteered to drive Loki home, but he declined, saying it wasn’t too far a walk. He lives about forty minutes from Pepper’s house, but he wanted time alone with his thoughts. _Is it right that I feel more like a family with Pepper and her dad than I do with the others? They’re not my real family, so maybe I can find a new family while I’m here. Loki Potts. Eh, I’ll stick with Laufeyson_.

A few weeks before they officially moved, Loki was packing boxes in the attic when he found his birth certificate. The first names of his parents were smudged, but his last name was clearly Laufeyson, _not Odinson_ like the others. Thor hadn’t known and hadn’t believed it, but Hela told him he was repressing the memory since – on Asgard – Loki and Thor are seven years apart. Hela, a freshman on Earthguard, easily remembered when Loki was adopted. She was thirty-five on Asgard, and now she would be ninety-eight.

Loki had run away to Nifiheim, the realm where he used to visit his sister before she returned to Asgard. He feels safe there. Before he’s willing to, Loki arrives at the Odinson Castle. Slipping through the gates, Loki uses magic to assist him in climbing the side of the house into the window leading to his new bedroom. He doesn’t sleep well, so he reads his book on the battles of the Midgardian Civil War.

The following morning, he skips out on breakfast and spells his bookbag, so it won’t gain weight. He grabs a golden apple from a box hidden in his closet and cuts it into slices with his favorite dagger. He slides three slices into a smaller box and sets it into his bookbag with random school supplies Frigga bought for her kids. He slips out of the house and starts walking to school. The school isn’t as far away as Pepper’s house, and he reaches it in less than half an hour.

“Do you have your permission slip, Tones?”

Loki looks over, wondering what the kids are talking about, especially after the asked preteen pulls out a slip of paper in response.

“Yeah. I’m gonna see the Siamese fighting fish.”

“Fighting fish?” The unfamiliar boy raises an eyebrow. “They have sharks and whales, and Scotchrock, the Killer Turtle.”

“He’s a _tortoise_ , Rhodey.”

“Whatever, man.”

Loki notices another preteen, a troublemaker named Pietro, and snatches his slip. The taller nine-year-old evades his attempts of grabbing his ticket back. He creates a copy and tosses the other back. He changes the names on his copy from ‘Pietro Maximoff’ to ‘Loki Laufeyson’, and ‘Natalya Maximoff’ to ‘Frigga Odinson’. An hour later, Loki is standing to the side of a school bus, waiting for his name to be called. The fourth graders have turned in their permission slips, and they’ll be chosen field trip buddies at random.

Virginia Potts and Jane Foster. Loki watches as his one friend joins a shorter brunette girl. Wanda Maximoff and Darcy Lewis. Two brunettes walk off together, one of them about four inches taller than the other. Pietro Maximoff and Clinton Barton. The boys easily walk onto the bus together. Rakim Rocket and Elizabeth Ross. A short boy with shaggy brown hair joins a taller brunette girl to the bus. James Rhodes and Aneth Mantis. A black boy and a white boy who were standing close exhale loudly.

The black boy sighs and joins the Asian girl as they board the bus together. Philip Coulson and Anthony Stark. The white boy from before shrugs and follows the other brunette boy. That leaves two of them, and they’re the last names to be called. Loki Laufeyson and Stevie Rogers. Stevie is half a foot shorter than Loki, but he turns to face the transfer student with a wide smile.

“You ever been to an aquarium?”

Loki frowns and stands at his full height – 4’10” – to intimidate his ‘buddy’. It seems to work as Stevie’s smile dims. He nods and gestures for Loki to follow him on the bus. The ride is loud but not long. When they pull up to the aquarium, the trip chaperon hands each pair a pamphlet guide.

“Everyone, attention please.” When the kids stop talking, she continues. “There are eight stations to stop by today. I want four of you at each station at a time. Can I have some volunteers?”

Tony’s hand shoots up. “I want Rhodey and Mantis with us!”

Miss Rose nods. “Alright. Anthony, Philip, James, and Aneth will begin at the Amazon river. Anyone else?”

As the four of them start talking amongst themselves, Pepper jumps up. “I want Loki and Stevie!”

“Virginia, Jane, Loki, and Steve will begin at the gyroscopes.”

No one else volunteers, so Miss Rose assigns the groups. “Rakim, Elizabeth, Gamora, and Hope will start at Lake Malawi. And Clinton, Pietro, Wanda, and Darcy will start at the Great Barrier Reef. Make sure all teams go to each station and collect a sticker for your pamphlets. We’ll meet in front of the Living Art Center to break for lunch. Are there any questions?”

No hands are raised, and Miss Rose nods. The teams disperse.

“Hi, Loki.” Pepper smiles at the brooding boy. “Do you like the fish? Which one’s your favorite?”

“Scyphozoa.”

Jane looks at him like he sprouted another head, but Stevie and Pepper race to the gyroscope with the latter grabbing Loki’s hand.

“There’s a lot of them in these tanks!” She smiles excitedly.

Stevie nods. “Kreisel tanks keep them from getting hurt like they would in the bigger tanks. Did you know jellyfish can’t even breathe? They _absorb_ the oxygen that’s in the water!”

Pepper jumps in place. “And one time, NASA sent a whole bunch of jellyfish into space to see if they could live without gravity.

A smile starts to form across Loki’s lips. “The _Turritopsis dohrnii_ jellyfish might be immortal. If it gets hurt, it can turn itself into another jellyfish. Like shape-shifting.”

Stevie and Pepper’s eyes widen, turning their attention to the tank in front of them. Jane, on the other hand, is bored. She collects two stickers and adds them to their books.

“C’mon, guys. We got more to see.”

Stevie opens his mouth to protest, but Hope and Betty are already on their way over. He shrugs and follows Jane.

“I see electric eels!” Pepper squeals, barreling past them to the Amazon River biotope.

Loki stifles a smile but tags along. Jane shakes her head.

“Electric eels aren’t even eels, though. They’re _knife fish_.”

Loki’s eyes brighten at this information, and he presses closer to the glass. The employee holding the stickers chuckles at Loki and Pepper’s enthusiasm.

“Would you like to know some shocking facts about electric eels?” Loki, Pepper, and Stevie nod. “Well, all of an electric eel’s vital organs are crammed into the front twenty percent of its body. The rest of that body is packed with 6,000 cells that act like tiny batteries. Can either of you find the eel’s eyes?”

Their attention is split, trying to search for its eyes. Stevie finds them, but he notes that the fish doesn’t look like it knows where it’s going.

“That’s because they’re mostly blind. Instead, electric eels use electric pulses to move around and find their food.”

For the next two hours, the team learns about electric eels, many different species of cichlids in Lake Malawi, and the crown-of-thorns starfish found in the Great Barrier Reef. Loki, Stevie, and Pepper are still excitedly going on about the starfish and coral with Jane trailing behind. They meet Rocket’s and CB’s teams, but Tony’s team is still at the gyroscopes and talking about seahorses. Miss Rose needs to round them up so they can have lunch. With everyone together, she calls attention.

“Now. Everyone will be able to grab one sandwich, one fruit, one dessert, and one drink. Alright?”

The students nod, and she allows them to grab their trays. Loki falls into step between Pepper and Stevie. Pepper grabs ham and cheese, a red apple, a brownie, and chocolate milk. Loki skips the sandwich and fruit, but he grabs a brownie and chocolate milk. Stevie grabs turkey and cheese, a red apple, a slice of apple pie, and a white milk. The boys follow Pepper to a five-person circle table where Tony and Rhodey already sit. Rhodey glances at everyone’s trays, but he lingers on Loki’s.

“Where’s your food?”

Loki shrugs and reaches into the pocket dimension inside his bookbag. He pulls out an apple slice and shoves it in his mouth before anyone can say anything. Conversation quickly falls to comics and the Caribbean Sea biotope. When Rhodey and Stevie take their trays back, Tony stops Loki from following them.

“Have you got a name?”

“Course I do. Pepper knows it. And Miss Rose said it at the buses.”

“I wasn’t listening. Can’t you tell me before I die?”

Loki raises an eyebrow. “What’re you talking about?”

“I hit someone playing baseball, and she’s gonna kill me today.”

“Kay. If you’re not dead next week, I’ll tell you then.”

Tony screws up his face, but Loki just huffs and takes his tray back. Once the trays are placed back, Miss Rose gathers everyone’s attention again.

“Are you kids having fun?” Mutters of mostly agreement greet her, and she continues. “Good. Does everyone have their stickers?” Again, there are mutters of agreement. “Virginia’s team will start at the Red Sea biotope, Anthony’s team will start at the Caribbean biotope, Gamora’s team will start at the nitrogen cycle exhibit, and Clinton’s team will start at the dolphinaria. Meet back here at two o’clock.”

The kids rejoin their groups and head to their appointed stations. Loki, Stevie, Pepper, and even Jane’s eyes widen when they arrive at the Red Sea tanks. Spinner dolphins, countless species of fish, manta rays, and sea turtles swim in all directions. While they’re busy, Tony is glued to the Caribbean station for an entirely different reason. The infamous red-footed tortoise, Scotchrock, sits in a grassy area. The grass, however, is brown more than it is green. His shell has been graffitied, and it doesn’t look as though he’s been fed often enough.

“That isn’t right.”

Rhodey shrugs beside him. “Who cares? Let’s go look at the dolphins.”

When Rhodey moves away from the glass, Phil nudges Tony. “Dude, we gotta bust him out.”

“Who?”

Phil rolls his eyes as they follow Rhodey and Mantis. “Scotchrock, duh.”

They head to the dolphinaria while CB’s team reaches the Caribbean. Wanda, Pietro, and Darcy point out all the colorful sea creatures, but CB’s focus is on the sad tortoise. He doesn’t notice when the rest of his team leaves half an hour later until Hope walks over and pokes him. He jolts at first but relaxes. He looks around and jogs off to catch his teammates. Rocket looks over at the sad turtle, but it doesn’t hold his attention long. Jane finally has fun at the nitrogen cycle exhibit, but the other three don’t share the enthusiasm.

She continues talking about eliminating nitrogen waste as they move onto the Caribbean Sea. Her words fall on deaf ears as Loki, Stevie, and Pepper stare at Scotchrock.

“Are you listening?”

“It’s like a prison.” Loki frowns.

“Do you got a way to get back here?” Stevie asks.

Loki’s eyes light up. “Hela has an Explorer!”

“Your… sister?” Pepper asks, having only (sorta) met Thor.

Loki nods. “We need some more people to help.”

“I’ll get Tony to help,” Stevie promises.

“How?” Loki tilts his head.

He shrugs. “I’ll clean his room or something, I guess.”

“He’s your brother?”

He shrugs again. “Yeah. I’m adopted.”

Loki nods. “Me too.”

When the hours are up, the kids convene at the art center with stickers on their pamphlets. The blonde defects from Loki’s side and drags Tony away from Rhodey before any of them can get on the bus.

“What’s up, Stevie?”

“What’d you think about Scotchrock?”

Tony frowns. “Phil and I think we gotta do something about it.”

“How ‘bout tonight?”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “How?”

“Tell Phil to come over tonight. Pepper’s coming over, too.”

“What about me?” CB asks, interrupting them. “I wanna do something ‘bout Scotchrock, too.”

Stevie nods. “Say we’re havin’ a sleepover or something.”

“How’re we getting there?”

“I’ll tell you at my house.”

“If I’m not dead by then.” Tony scowls.

When the bus arrives back at the school, it’s time for school to be let out. Tony grabs Stevie’s arm and tries to barrel toward the other parking lot, but he runs into a wall called Ghost. A few older kids – two fellow fifth-graders named Drax and Justin, and sixth graders Dee, Sock, and Kenny – back her up. Dee and Sock grab hold of Steve to keep him from intervening, and a crowd quickly gathers around the two. Thor and Bucky are among the crowd, as are Loki and Pepper.

“Whassamatter, Golden Goose? Can’t hit a girl?”

“You’re not a girl. You’re a boogeyman.” Loki retorts by throwing his voice toward his brother.

Pepper looks over, but Loki doesn’t seem to have said anything at all. Ghost heard the taunt, though, and searches the crowd.

“Who said that?”

“I did!” A few distorted copies of his and Thor’s mixed voices ring out.

The kids start searching for the mystery voice, including Thor and Loki.

“All you can do is fight! You don’t even win! Crazy girl! Not even smart! Have you seen her grades? Eww, she stinks! When’s the last time she took a bath?”

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” Ava wails.

She stares wildly around the crowd, but the other students stare around each other as well. She shoves Tony to the ground and storms away. Dee and Sock shove Steve as well and follow her. Loki steps away from the crowd, and Pepper follows him.

“How’d you do that?”

“Do what?”

“That was kinda your voice, wasn’t it?”

Loki shrugs. “I dunno. Was it?”

Pepper pouts and hands him a scrap piece of paper. “Just… I’ll see you at Tony’s. Don’t lose the address.”

A few hours later, Hela comes home from her latest attempts at job interviews. Over dinner. Odin questions her, but she doesn’t think there’s anything there. Thor tells his parents about the fight and how the ‘female warrior’ ran away. Loki excuses himself shortly after Hela and meets her in her room.

“What is it, oh prince of lies?”

“You wanna help me break someone out of jail?”

She raises an eyebrow. “In this realm, you’re _nine_. Who the hell would you know in jail?”

“Scotchrock.”

She stares at him. “That’s either the name of a mob boss or an animal. You want to break out an animal at the zoo?”

“No.”

“The aquarium?”

“Maybe.”

She shakes her head. “Why?”

“Me and some people at school think he isn’t being treated right. He looks sad and old and he’s got paint on his shell.” When she looks like she might be weaning. “I’ll keep your room glamoured for a week.”

“Deal. When do we leave and who are we picking up?”

Loki grins and hands her the paper. “After bed.”

At a quarter till eleven, the lights go out. Loki sneaks into Hela’s room so they can leave through her window. He climbs into the passenger seat, and Hela starts up the car.

“How’d Mr. Gloomy get so many friends?”

Loki shrugs. “Pepper’s smart, and Stevie’s funny.”

“And the others?”

“Not my friends.” He stresses. “But they’re gonna help us free Scotchrock.”

Hela nods along. “Alright, Kiddo.”

Loki rolls his eyes but settles in the seat. The ride is mostly silent until she pulls into the driveway to Stark Tower. He climbs out and presses the buzzer. When Tony’s voice rattles over the set, Loki rolls his eyes yet again.

“Hello, Stark.”

“Name, please.”

“Hela’s waiting.”

“You’re no fun.”

“We’re freeing a tortoise. That’s serious business.”

The boys smirk over the radio, and Tony clicks off. When the door opens, Loki heads to the car with Tony, Stevie, Pepper, Phil, and CB trailing after him. They climb into the remaining seats, and the preteens break into conversation over how they’re going to accomplish this. Hela turns on the radio and rolls her eyes. When they arrive at the aquarium, Tony has out a tablet and starts directing her where to drive.

“Do you have a birds’ eye view or something?”

“Of course not.” Tony shakes his head. “I hacked into the security cameras.”

Hela gives Loki a look that clearly states _I see why they’re your friends_. His responding look states _look at what we’re here for_ , and she nods.

“Alright, Kid. Direct me.”

As Tony does as requested, Phil breaks out a set of small tools, and CB pulls out a bow and some arrows. Stevie hands out black ski masks, and Pepper scours a map of the aquarium. Hela raises an eyebrow at Loki, and he conjures a key – though she’s unsure if he’s just created it out of memory or he swiped it and placed it in a pocket dimension. Tony sends the car to a darkened loading bay to the aquarium, and Hela hands Loki an aluminum baseball bat for protection.

The six kids donned in ski masks and dark clothing leave through the trunk and sneak to the loading door. Stevie opens his mouth to point out the padlocks, but Phil is ready with his tool kit. Loki gives him illumination with magic disguised as a cigarette lighter.

“Okay guys,” Tony whispers as Phil works the tumbler on the last lock. “We need to find the security room first. Phil, Pep, you’re with me. When we give the go, the rest of you need to break Scotchrock out and bring him to the door. Ready?”

The preteens nod, and the door opens. Phil, Pepper, and Tony stick to the shadows and creep along the walls. They keep a close eye on the swiveling cameras, turning their faces to the wall, or ducking out of sight when they come close. Phil once again breaks out his lock-picking kit to help them break into the security office. Tony and Pepper quickly get to work on hacking into the system. They find old footage and sync them up for the right day after checking the night’s videos for the two employees on the ground.

“Okay, I see one in the dolphinaria,” Tony notes.

Pepper points to another screen. “And one by the gyroscopes.”

“Phil, give the signal.”

The boy rolls his eyes but walks out and grabs Tony’s phone off the counter. It’s open and a message is ready to be sent to Stevie. Once he clicks the button, he hangs back and watches the real feed off Tony’s laptop in case one of the guards gets closer to the Caribbean biotope. Stevie gets the message and nods to the others.

“That’s the signal. CB? Where to?”

The brunette leads Stevie and Loki down the quickest – and darkest – way to the Caribbean biotope. When CB decides to make a beeline for the Amazon, Loki grabs his arm halfway across. He covers his mouth when the other opens it, and they stand still behind a standing copy of the map. The guard walks by without noticing them. Stevie joins them a few seconds later, and Loki lets go of CB. The boys let out a collective sigh of relief and continue their search of the tortoise.

“There!” Loki hisses after a few more turns. “Stevie, do you see a thermostat?”

He searches for one while CB takes out his bow and an arrow – just in case the guard comes back, and they need a distraction. While the other two are distracted, Loki uses his magic to pull out a key for the biotope tank. Since all the animals are placed in their own environments among one another, the sad red-footed tortoise is in a place of its own. Stevie finds the thermostat, alerting them in a whisper.

“What’s it on?”

“Um, eighty-eight.”

“Turn it down to sixty.”

Stevie does so, and Loki hands him the key. “Go ahead and let him out. I am going to the cafeteria. Maybe they have a carrot that will lure him out.”

Stevie nods, not asking how Loki would think of that. Of course, he did his research. He has books on as many Earthgardian animals as he could think to look up. Out of sight from CB, Stevie, or the cameras, Loki conjures two carrots. When he gets back to the biotope, he notices the guard returning their way. The nine-year-old ducks into the shadows to a wall but peers around the corner to wave at CB. After a few tries, CB finally notices him. He aims his bow down a hallway away from them and pulls.

The arrow flies out, bouncing off a sign, and causing it to clatter. Loki watches as the guard turns and walks down the aisle with his flashlight out. When the guard is out of sight, Loki returns to the others. CB lightly shoves Loki’s shoulder as a sign of thanks. Stevie walks over.

“Dude, he’s outta his shell, but he’s not coming out.”

Loki holds up carrots. “He wants heat and food that’s not leaves. We can do this.”

CB shrugs and readies another arrow, just in case. Stevie sighs. He and Loki move to the tank, and Loki waves the carrots. When the tortoise doesn’t make any movement other than perking up his head, Loki switches to another method: hiss-clicking. While his Allspeak is generally used for intelligent creatures, he has learned the basics of talking to animals. His specialties are cats and squirrels, but he knows how to speak urgencies and threats as well. Stevie stares blankly at him, but he’s alarmed when the tortoise seems to talk back.

Two minutes later, Loki and Scotchrock are engaged in a conversation, and Loki is leading him out of the tank. Stevie resets the thermostat and relocks the door. Stevie gets a text message and bites his lip.

“Tony says we need to hurry. The guards are going to lock up and leave soon.”

Loki turns back to Scotchrock and makes a series of hisses and clicks. CB blinks at him, but the tortoise chirrs back and retreats to his shell.

“What was that?”

“He’s letting me carry him. Let’s go.”

CB and Stevie share a look before running after Loki. In the security booth, Tony and Pepper have fixed the reroute and are waiting for the others. Phil has lookout, and when he spots Loki running over with the tortoise, he waves at the other two. They reconnect the cameras to today’s reels, and the three preteens sneak back into the shadows. Pepper picks up the baseball bat that Loki left at the entrance. Together, the kids manage to pull down the weighted loading bay door, and Phil refastens the locks.

Tony knocks on Hela’s window as he and the others run past, and they open the back of the car. Loki climbs in with Scotchrock first and clicks his tongue. The tortoise’s head pops out and accepts the proffered carrot. Tony and Pepper stare at him, but Phil seems not to have noticed. Loki shrugs it off, the door is shut, and Hela sets off toward Swamp Forest.

“Have you ever had a tur-tortoise?” CB asks.  
  


“… not personally.”

“Can you really talk to him?” Pepper smiles.

He nods. “I can talk to _any_ animal.”

“Cool!” She grins. “Can I pet him?”

Loki smiles a little. He clicks his tongue a few times, and the tortoise squeaks back.

“He says yes, but not too hard.”

Tony rolls his eyes, but he crawls over to also pet him.

“Thanks for helping. Can I get your name now?”

Loki laughs lightly. “You’re impatient.”

“I’ve been told that, actually.”

“We’re here!” Hela calls from the front. “There’s a box in the middle with soap and sponges. Let’s clean the turtle.”

“Tortoise.” Loki, Stevie, and Tony correct her.

A short bit later, Hela and the preteens have gently scrubbed the offending marks off the tortoise’s shell. He gives a happy squeak, and they set him free. As the preteens regroup back in the Explorer, Loki casts a small spell to disable the tag that the aquarium attached to Scotchrock. The spell on top of the other magic done today gives him a bloody nose – which Stevie points out when he climbs back into the car. Hela and Loki drop the other kids off at ‘Stark Tower’ and drive home.

Sneaking back in is a little difficult, and Loki decides to camp out in his sister’s room. It’s a common occurrence if he has a nightmare or is overstressed, so no one thinks anything of it in the morning. By Tuesday afternoon, the school is nonstop gossiping about the ‘tortoise kidnappers’ from the local aquarium. The preteens involved catch each other’s eyes in the halls and classrooms throughout the week, but no one says anything. It’s their own secret. Friday is October 18th.

Not an important day for a lot of people, but it’s _very_ important for fourth graders Tony, CB, and Rhodey, and fifth-grader Bobby Banner. It’s their anniversary fishing and camping trip. Five years ago, they met at Saran Berry Lake when Tony’s butler Jarvis, CB’s mom Edith, Rhodey’s dad Ed, and Bobby’s dad Brian took them on a fishing and camping trip. They wound up sharing a tent during a rainstorm, and the boys struck up a friendship. After school, they meet at the pickup port.

“I’m going to catch the biggest bass in the lake!” CB boasts.

Bobby snorts. “You’ll be lucky to catch a trout.”

“It’ll be a _rainbow_ trout!”

“You wish.” Rhodey scoffs, walking over. “I’ll leave you some pike.”

While the boys bicker and wait for Tony, across the school, Loki is talking to Pepper.

“Well, _Dad_ wants me to be more like Thor. So, he got Hela to take me and him camping this weekend. I _need_ you to go with me so I don’t die out there.”

“Where are you going?”

“Hela says it’s called Saran Berry Lake.”

Pepper’s eyes twinkle and she smiles. “I know that place. I’ll ask my dad. Here.” She hands him a piece of paper and scrawls out some digits. “That’s my phone number. Call me at four. I should know by then.”

Loki nods, and she turns around to catch a school bus. “I hope he says yes…”


End file.
